Motivation Fail

I realize it's been a month since I last updated. Trust me, I feel pretty guilty about it. It's not that I haven't been running, I have (occasionally), I just cant find the time for blogging. The little time I do make for exercise is just for that, exercise.

In the last month I've run 4 times. That's about 10 times too few, if you ask me. I'm beginning to lose my fitness level at the rate I'm going. Today I wheezed through a mile and wanted to quit. Ugh.

Maybe a training plan will help me keep my motivation? I'm not sure, but I do know I don't want to end up on the bad side of "use it or lose it".

My first 5k!

Well, today was my first official race. I was mostly concentrating on finishing (and not being last), but I think I did ok. My gun time was 39:21.something, but chip time was 39:10.05. Considering my previous 3 milers ended up being about 45:00, even without walking, I did alright.

Aside from the race, I haven't run in about a week and a half. I got a job, which is both awesome and a roadblock at the same time. I've been eating crap all week, and I haven't had the energy to exercise. Maybe the crap food is causing the lack of energy? Tomorrow is grocery day so I hope to pick up some tasty/healthy things for office lunches and snacks (so I'm not tempted to visit the too-convenient vending machines).

Here's the 5k. I forgot to stop it at the finish so it's a minute and something off.

Hills and Getting Sick

Ugh. Just ugh.

Sunday's run was interesting, to say the least. I was in Bourne, TX visiting my college roommate's family. Aside from getting a crappy night's sleep and the cold (it felt at least 50*, maybe colder), it was HILLY.

I'd never done hills before. They kicked my ass.

I did a loop that was a little under 3 miles, and ended up walking a mile of it (including warm up/cool down). The really steep hills were walked because I didn't want to accidentally pull a muscle or (more likely) trip and fall. I stopped a couple of times to take some pictures because it was absolutely beautiful. During the entire hour or so I was out there I only had maybe 4 cars pass me, and saw far more deer. The pics are a little dark, but hey, it was early still.

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Fast forward to this morning. I've been sick for the last couple of days. Not an awful kind of sick, it's just a mild cold. I got myself up early this morning not knowing if I would be ready to run after 3 days of congestion, but I tried. My hamstrings and shins are still sore from the hills and I'm still stupidly tired. I didn't get very far. I have about 10 days until the 5k and want to get in a 4 miler before that. Hopefully I can knock that out on Friday or Saturday, depending on how I feel.

Postponed long run

*long sigh*

My 4 miles on Tuesday didn't turn out so hot. It was pretty much a non-run. My hip just wasn't letting me run. It was tight or sore or something and caused me to limp along for about a quarter of a mile before I decided to postpone. Maybe I ran on it funny on Saturday? I'm not sure.

I let my hip rest until today when I did a mile and a half. That didn't go so well either and I ended up walking when I shouldn't have. My stomach cramped up pretty wickedly, and I got one hell of a stitch that made me quit altogether. Maybe it was because all I ate before running was a little cheese. I'm not used to the cooler weather, either.

Bleh. It doesn't matter because I'm redoing last week. Today was 2 miles (more or less), Sunday will be 3, and Wednesday or so will be 4.

Yeah, that's the stuff

I did a totally awesome 3 miles today. It was maybe even more fun than Thursday's 2 miler. I used the treadmill again, I don't really dislike it anymore. There's something to be said for watching tv while dragging yourself along for a few miles.

Anyway, today is a personal non-stop-distance record. Every other time I've done more than 2 I've let myself walk some, but not this time, huzzah! It made me feel like the 4 miles on Tuesday could actually happen.

Oh, and I finally signed up for the Monster Mash 5k on November 1st. I'm excited for my first race!

2 Not-So-Easy-But-Still-Fun Miles

I was supposed to do 2 easy miles at about a 14:30 pace, but instead ended up doing 2 miles miles of fartleks (snicker). Meaning, I used today as a speed run. After about a half mile of warming up, I increased my speed by a few seconds every couple hundred meters or so until I wanted to slow down (just to speed back up again). It wasn't difficult since I was on the treadmill, and was really pretty fun. The fastest I got going for any length of time was about 5.2 mph, or about 11:54 per mile. While that pace wont get me to the Monster Mash 5k finish line in 30:00, hopefully I can bring down my current 3 mile finish time of about 45:00.

A redo

Saturday's run was supposed to be my 3 mile long run, but that just didn't happen. I did almost 2.5 miles instead. It just wasn't happening. I know physically I could do it, but I have some kind of mental block. I get intimidated by distances easily and end up convincing myself that I can't do it.




Not only did I cop out on Saturday, I missed yesterday's run. I made excuses and ended up skipping it altogether.

So today I redid the run. I wish I could say it was without walking, but it wasn't. I walked twice for about a minute apiece toward the beginning of the run. After the halfway point I wouldn't let myself walk again. Every time I wanted to stop, I forced myself to go a little faster on the treadmill. I guess it worked, because I made it the last mile and a half without alot of trouble. It's shower time, so here's today's run:

On the treadmill again

I didn't get up in time to run outside today. The treadmill is getting boring, it's time to start getting my butt up earlier every day, not just running days.

It was a pretty uneventful run, just two miles of tv. Watching Paula Dean make one of her horrible-for-you casseroles while burning off 200 calories gives me a weird sense of satisfaction. It makes me hungry, but it also makes me feel good knowing that my body thanks me for taking care of it every time it lets me run an effortless mile.

Time for (maybe) some blood giving, library visiting, and house tidying. Until Saturday, when I WILL do my first successful 3 miler.

Finally calibrated!

Saturday morning I finally got to calibrate my Nike+ without using the treadmill. I did an even 2 miles that weren't even really that difficult. It was cool and almost autumney outside, prime weather for a run. I stopped for a few seconds twice, first to get rid of a rock in my shoe, and then for the stop light I have to pass. I picked up the pace for the last 200 yards so I wouldn't cop out early, it was pretty fun. Here's that run:




I calibrated that down to 2 miles, not thinking it would really work, but lo and behold, it does! I did today's run on the treadmill because of the heat and they numbers were virtually identical, huzzah! I guess calibrating it is 40% skill at keeping a steady pace, and 60% luck.

As for the run itself, it went pretty well. Once or twice I wanted to stop, but not out of fatigue, it was because I was just feeling lazy. So I kept going and finished strong. This is today's run:



Over the weekend I told a few family members that I'm planning on running the 2010 Houston Marathon and they said they'd be there to cheer. I'm making an effort to continue to be held accountable to running, and telling as many people as possible makes it less likely I'll fail.

Oh, yesterday I got a new running hat! I've wanted one for a little while now because my hair constantly gets in my face and I hate the feeling of sweat dripping, so I got a grey Nike dry-fit hat. And while I was at the running store I picked up a couple of fliers for the Monster Mash Road and Trail 5/10k (warning, annoying webpage music). It'll be held pretty close to my house on November 1st, which gives me plenty of time to work on a respectable 5k time. Maybe even sub-30:00!

A Step Back

I was supposed to do a mellow 3 miles today, but it just wasn't happening. More lack of motivation and shins that were killing me for some reason prevented me from finishing successfully. I only managed 2 miles running with lots of walking sprinkled in. I'm going to take a step back in my new program and repeat last week. The thought of doing 3 miles is still daunting, and I need to get to the point where I can do 2 easily. Unfortunately, I know I can do it, I'm just not for some reason.

2 days from now I'll be doing 2 miles instead of 4, but hopefully I'll find the motivation to do some cycling or wii fit tomorrow.

The start of a 9 mile week

This week is raising the bar on my mileage. In the past weeks, I've done at most 8 miles 4 days a week (but usually closer to 6 miles, 3 times a week). Today started the first of a 9 mile week, over 3 days. It culminates on Saturday with a 4 mile long run. 4 miles?! I could barely wheeze through 3 last Saturday! That'll be like a full hour of running, there's no way I can do that non-stop. I did an "easy" 2 miles this afternoon and wanted to stop.

I'm slowly losing my motivation. I could have easily continued sitting on the couch today instead of running, and that worries me some. I'm hoping it was just a fluke, and that Wednesday's 3 miles will go well. Maybe it's because while I was doing C25k, all of the weeks looked possible. They looked totally doable, even the first 20 minute run in week 5. In this new program it feels like it's not a big deal to tack on another mile or two, when to me it is. It's a big deal to go from 3 miles to 5 next Saturday.

On another note, I think it's pretty much impossible for me to calibrate my Nike+. It's consistently unreliable when it comes to distance. I always have to map out my runs first, which kind of defeats the purpose. Also, I found out that a new Garmin Forerunner 405 is coming out later this year for $299. I really want it, maybe I'll get it for Christmas.

Kk, shower's all warmed up, time for me to get unsmelly.

A nonexistent road

This morning I used mapmyrun to find a route that was as close as possible to 3 miles. I found one that was at 3.03 going down a street I had never gone down before and taking me through another neighborhood. I even wrote down the street names on my arm so I'd know where to turn.

Well, I got to that street I was supposed to turn down and lo and behold, there was no street. It was a ditch. Bleh. That threw off my whole run because after that, I didn't know what route to take that would be 3 miles. Anyway, I did a few circles around other streets and took the long way home, hoping to rack up some mileage. It worked, because looking at the route I DID take, I went about 3.5 miles total. I walked more than a fair share of that, I'd say 2/3 mile, so it wasn't a totally awesome run, but it was pretty good. I'd feel better if I could have done it without walking, but that's how it goes, I guess.

I really want a Garmin Forerunner 305. It's a wrist-mounted GPS unit that gives real distance and pace instead of the "try to calibrate it and hope it works" Nike+. Too bad it's like $300 that I don't have. Maybe I'll get it for myself for Christmas when I (hopefully) have a job.

Here's the run. I'll have to recalibrate it again, there's no way I only did 2.37 miles. I should recheck it with the treadmill sometime this week, maybe on Monday or Tuesday when I have a 2 miler.

A new training program

Ugh. I screwed with my schedule and I'm paying for it now. Last night I went for short, quick run and wore myself out. I only ran about 2/3 mile, but I did it relatively fast. My pace was probably about 10:30, much faster than my usual 15:00. Anyway, I guess my legs didn't like the change in pace and decided to rebel today.

I was going to list some reasons why today's run sucked, but I shouldn't be making excuses. It sucked, but next time will be better.

It's pretty clear that I still need at least one rest day between runs, which is pretty disappointing. When I read "real" runners' blogs, they go on runs close to every day. I have to keep in mind that I'm still very new to running and still need to take it slow.

In other news, I found a pretty satisfactory training schedule at Runner's World that will ease me into more mileage. It has me running 3 days a week, incrementing my milage by 1-3 per week, with crosstraining another 3-4 days (which should be cycling, if I can get the motivation). The first week is just 3 days doing 2 miles apiece, so I think I can skip it because that's what I've been doing lately. My next run will be on Saturday, 3 miles. That'll be a personal distance record, but I can do it. Two full rest days and I usually feel like I can do anything, haha.

Runs from the last two days:

Couch to 5k: W8D3

I guess today is W8D3, but I'm still not really following the program much anymore. I'm continuously stuck in the limbo between going longer on time but not far enough on distance.

Oh well, I'll get to 5k level soon, no need to rush it.

Today was my first run since Ike blew through on Saturday morning, and I got to take a look at some of the damage in the neighborhood. Lots of people were out cleaning up, raking, mowing, fixing roofs, etc. I had to dodge a few downed trees, but nothing totally epic.

I ended up walking at about half way for maybe 1/5th a mile. I was wanting to take it easy and not tax my legs too much, considering my shins started aching at the first quarter mile. It was (is) such a beautiful day outside I didn't feel the need to push myself very hard, and instead relaxed and enjoyed being outside.

Next time I'll be going 2.25 miles nonstop, hopefully. I've got nothing against walking breaks, I know even seasoned runners work them into their long runs to improve their endurance, but I'd like to get to at least 3 miles without. All of the beginner training schedules I've found start at 4 miles as the long run, so 3 miles without walking should prepare me for a new program. Tacking on .25 once a week, it shouldn't take me too long to get there.

Or, maybe I'll just haphazardly put together my own schedule for a few weeks until I "catch up" with one I've found. I'll post here when I come up with something.

I did go about 2.5 miles today not including my walk break, a personal distance record. It turns out that when I calibrated my Nike+ on the treadmill, my natural pace was off and instead of over reporting my mileage by 30%, it UNDER reported it by about 13%. Since I can't go back and edit my previous calibration, I have to try it again. Maybe tomorrow I'll head to the track since the schools are still closed and get a quick .5 in.

Couch to 5k: W8D2.5

I hate those days that are just totally miserable. It just wasn't happening today, I only jogged about 1.5 miles total.

I think it's because I'm an evening runner. As long as I let dinner sit a little while my evening runs are usually pretty good. I'll be running again tomorrow, here's hoping the weather will hold up for me to do it in the evening. If not, it's back to the treadmill.

It's a short blog, but I have to go grocery shopping before all the bottled water is gone.

Couch to 5k: W8D2

I did a solid 2 miles today on the treadmill. This morning I gave myself the excuse that because I spent about 4 hours yesterday scrubbing the kitchen floor, my quads and glutes deserved a day off. After my (late) morning cup of coffee, the caffeine got me going enough for a run. I did compromise, though. I went for the treadmill instead of waiting till it was cooler in the evening. I figured I could get a (relatively) easy run in while ensuring that I kept a steady pace for calibrating my sportband.

The first mile and a half or so was easy, and I'd have never thought I would say something like that 3 months ago. I've noticed that I'm still amazed by my progress, but my honeymoon with running is pretty much over. That's not to say I don't still love it, but it's getting a little harder to find the motivation to hop on the treadmill or run down the street. But I guess that's part of every relationship, there's a point where the fun newness is over and the real intimacy begins. In this case, the intimacy is embedding running into my life wholly, and calling myself a true runner. There will be good runs and bad runs, and maybe extended breaks here and there, but I know I will always be a runner at heart.

On a less sentimental note, I was finally able to calibrate my Nike+ sportband. Considering it was about 30% off, that's some really good news. I was going slightly faster on the treadmill than I would have down the sidewalk, so it wont be 100%, but at least it'll be better and slightly more reliable than it was. The bad part of that is it'll be a little more difficult to keep up with my "100 miles in 12 weeks" goal.

I'll be upping my mileage by .25 on Thursday. I'm not strictly keeping with the c25k program these days because I'm ahead on time (I'm doing ~30:00 now), but still behind .75 on distance. In my head, I've really already finished the program. Of course, if I ran a 5k tomorrow I don't think I could finish without walking, so maybe I'm not really done. I think it's time to write my own program to get into 10k shape.

Today's run (the calibration doesn't take effect until next time):

Couch to 5k: W8D1

Wooo, today went pretty well. Not awesome, but I wasn't dying.

I took my dad to the track with me. It's different to run with someone, even though we didn't really run together. He worked on W1D1 while I did my 2 miles.

I've realized that I really don't like running on the track. I feel like I'm not going anywhere. It's loads easier for me to say "ok, just gotta get to that intersection" than "ok, 2 more laps" because a lap feels like forever.

During my last lap I really pushed and gave it everything I had in terms of speed. I'm generally a slow jogger so it really wasn't all that fast, but it was certainly faster than I had ever gone for any length of time. It seemed like during that time my sportband's distance "caught up" with my actual distance, and I ended up with a more accurate finishing distance. On Thursday it said I had gone 2.35 miles when my actual was exactly 2. This time Nike+ said I did 2.05 when I was closer to 1.9.

Maybe on my in between days I'll start doing a mile at a faster pace until the end of the program. I haven't sat down and actually written out a running plan for after c25k, but I know I'll have to include intervals or fartliks (*snicker*) to improve my endurance.

Anyway, here's my run:

Couch to 5k: W8, rest

This morning I got up with every intention of running. I threw on a sports bra and running skirt and got about 8 feet down the hall before I turned around and got back into bed. My left shin is still sore after Thursday's run and I didn't want to just make it worse by jogging on it.

Ah well, I'll go out tomorrow. Dad says he wants to work out before his next physical to try to get his cholesterol down some so I invited him along with me. I think I'll take him to the track so maybe he won't feel too bad when I outrun him (which I'm pretty sure I'll do--he's fit from his job, but no runner). I'm hoping he won't be compelled to overdo it when I can just loop back around to him. It could be difficult to keep him from running too long/fast, we'll see.

Maybe I can talk him into starting c25k. I've suggested he should run a 5k with me and he didn't seem too averse to the idea. I'd just be worried about his heart with all that cardio. Here's hoping I can get him to have a physical before he begins running.

Any ideas for keeping him from overdoing it?

Edit: I've also been seeing some pretty nice definition in my legs. My calves and quads especially, but some even in my shins. Pretty nice considering I've only been running for about 2 1/2 months. It kind of makes me want to take a picture of my legs to compare them to another 2 months from now, haha.

Couch to 5k: W7D3

Well, today was the first day I counted miles instead of minutes and boy, it was rough. Usually I can go about a mile before the thought of walking crosses my mind, but today was just miserable. I only got about half a mile before I started to feel it, but managed to push through to 2 full miles. I did stop for a few seconds (maybe 20?) for a stop light twice, though.

I accidentally went a little too fast during a portion of the run, I think that's where I went wrong. Another runner caught up with me at a street light and I subconsciously ran a little faster than I should have. I need to pay more attention to that, it'll be bad news at a race one of these days.

I had a distance and one mile PR today, so that's something. I'll be redoing the same run on Saturday since week 8 is 28 minutes. It took me 30 minutes to go 2 miles, so I figure I shouldn't increase my mileage for another week or so. I don't want to overdo it when I'm making such awesome progress.

(Edit) Oh, and today was the first day it actually felt like it could be fall next month! There was even a cool breeze! I'll be glad when it finally gets cool enough for me to run in the late afternoon before I make dinner for the family.

Couch to 5k: W7D2

I love those totally awesome runs that make me want go right back out and go again.

Morning runs are great; the sun shines, I feel productive, it's a little cooler, but there's something to be said for evening runs. It's quieter and I have a chance to eat better before going out.

*sigh* If only I was nocturnal I'd have the best of both times of day.

Well, tonight I went for 25 minutes, or 1.75 miles. It seems I'm behind on distances for week 7, I should be up to 2.5 miles. I guess I'm just really really slow? I think it's time for me to start concentrating on miles instead of times, which means I'll have to deviate from the plan some to catch up. I'll try for a full 2 miles next time, measured out beforehand instead of watching my Nike+ sportband.

I still haven't calibrated it, I'm waiting for it to recognize one of my runs as "calibration ready". I'm not sure why it hasn't worked yet, I haven't walked the past couple of times, and when I do I always pause the band before stopping. Maybe it's time to just use the treadmill. I've read they're not awesome to use for calibrating because they're not very accurate, but it has to be better than being about 13% wrong every time.